Chapter 129 The bellyband is missing
Seeing that everyone was in a bad mood, Shen Zhi took out the gifts he bought for everyone and distributed them to everyone. As expected, everyone felt much better after seeing the gifts. They excitedly took the new clothes and tried them on themselves, and put on the jewelry immediately.
Meng Ting was overwhelmed with emotions when she saw that there was still a share for herself and her brother. Before the Meng family got into trouble, she had seen all kinds of good things. Now she has nothing and has become a servant, but the boss still treats her like a family member. After curing her brother's illness, she must work hard in the future to repay the boss's kindness.
Shen Zhi asked the guards left by Eunuch Cao to go to Baiyun Villa to say hello and said that he would go there in a few days.
These days, she prepared medicine every day to help Ah Si recuperate. In her spare time, she took Meng Ting to the mountains to hunt pheasants, ensuring that Ah Si had fresh chicken soup every meal. However, every time they came back from going out, they found Wang Xiucai wandering around her house, sneaking around. Shen Zhi felt sick as if she had eaten a fly when she thought about being remembered by such a person.
Shen Zhi informed everyone in the family and asked them to be careful when they went out, as it was unknown what bad things Mr. Wang was planning.
After Shen heard Shen Zhi talk about how Wang Xiucai stopped their carriage a few days ago, Shen Shi also became dissatisfied with Wang Xiucai. She didn't know what she was thinking about, and her brows were getting deeper and deeper. Later, she couldn't help but tell everyone, "The Wang family is not a decent family. You should stay away from them. It's best to go together. When you were young, Wang Xiucai bullied you a lot. He either threw insects or snakes into your backpack. One time, he went even further. He dug a trap on the way you had to go home and put cow dung in it, causing you to fall into the trap and get covered in cow dung. After you got home that time, your grandmother beat you severely. He usually looked down on you. Now he probably comes to see that our family is doing well. His father has been bedridden for many years, and his mother, a woman, didn't have the money to support him to go to school. But he is ambitious and likes to compare. Many people say that his mother has had affairs with many people to coax some money to support his studies, but he has not made any progress in these years, and he refuses to give up even if he fails the exam."
"Mom, don't worry, we won't fall into his trap. We still have Meng Ting at home. Meng Ting is invincible. Isn't it more than enough for her to deal with such a small person?" Shen Zhi comforted.
That day, Shen Zhen and Meng Ting carried a large basin of dirty clothes to the creek to wash them. It had rained recently, and the water in the creek had risen a lot, and the flow was also faster.
"Wow, what a big fish," Meng Ting suddenly saw a big fish swimming in the water. She guessed that it must have swam down from the reservoir upstream, so she put down the clothes in her hands and went to catch the fish.
The stream water in early spring was still a bit chilly, so the two men did not dare to go into the water directly. Moreover, the fish was cunning and swam towards where the water was fast-flowing and deep. The two men were reluctant to give up such a big fish.
"You guard it, I'll go to the shore and find a branch and sharpen it so that it will be easier to catch it with a fork." After saying that, Meng Ting ran away quickly, leaving Shen Zhen alone to stare at the fish, afraid that it would slip away if he was not careful.
Neither of them noticed a figure approaching quietly.
"Okay, here I come." Meng Ting ran over with a homemade harpoon in her hand, aimed at the fish in the water and stabbed it into the water with a whoosh, but the fish immediately ran away.
"You can't do that. You can't aim too high. Xiaozhi said that things in the water are deeper than what we can see with our eyes. You have to move the fork a little further inside." Shen Zhen said.
Meng Ting listened to Shen Zhen's advice and tried again. As expected, she caught the big fat fish with her fork. The two of them danced with joy.
After they finished washing the clothes, they carried the basin and the fish back to the yard.
Ah Si's grandmother's surname is Huang. Shen Zhen and the others all call her Grandma Huang. At this moment, Grandma Huang is basking in the sun in the yard. Grandma Huang twisted her foot early in the morning. When Shen Zhen saw it, she snatched the dirty clothes from her hands and helped her wash them. Now Shen Zhi has helped her with medicinal wine, and her feet have improved a lot. Grandma Huang was also very curious to see such a big fish. When she learned that they caught it in the creek, she was still a little glad that they went to wash clothes. If she went to wash clothes with her old bones, she would not catch anything and could only watch the fish dry and worry.
Shen Zhen helped Huang grandmother hang the wet clothes on the bamboo pole. Huang grandmother exclaimed when she saw it, "Ah Si used the extra red silk from Xiaobao's clothes to make me a bellyband, saying that this year is my zodiac year and asked me to wear a red lining to ward off evil spirits. How come it's gone now?"
Shen Zhen was also puzzled: "Could it be that the water washed away when we were catching fish? That's impossible. The clothes were all in the basin, it's impossible that only one piece was washed away."
The Third Uncle said, "If it was washed away by the water, you probably won't be able to find it now. I'll make two more for you later. Aunt Huang, you have to wear red every day in this year of your zodiac sign. Make two for you to wear alternately."
Grandma Huang smiled and said, "I have to thank my eldest niece. My eyesight has become poor as I get older. I am so grateful to you."
After hanging up the clothes, Shen Zhen took the fish to the kitchen and boiled a large pot of fish soup. The soup was milky white, fresh and delicious. Then she served a large bowl to Ah Si.
Ah Si was tired of drinking chicken soup these days, so she couldn't help but be happy to see the delicious fish soup. In addition, she hasn't had much milk recently, so drinking fish soup has many benefits.
At Mr. Wang's house, Ma happily held the red bellyband and gave her son a thumbs up. "Minzhi, well done. I wonder if that little bitch can escape from your grasp."
Mr. Wang was a little worried and said, "But what if Erya doesn't admit it? She looks down on me now and says I'm a toad wanting to eat swan meat."
Ma's face was slightly annoyed. "How dare she? My son is the Wenquxing from heaven. If the emperor hadn't rewarded her with 100 taels of gold, she would have been a mere peasant girl who worked in the fields. How could she catch my son's eye? No, Minzhi, her status is still too low. She can only be a concubine. She can't ask for this even if she burns incense. Besides, her bellyband is still in our hands. Although your mother can't read a single word, she still knows the two words "Er Ya". For the sake of her reputation, she dare not disobey."
Wang Xiucai was relieved. Since she was a concubine, he didn't need to ask a matchmaker to propose marriage, and he didn't need to pay a betrothal gift. This would save a lot of money. Erya would become his concubine in the future, and she would be a member of his Wang family. The farm and gold awarded to her by the emperor, as well as the small courtyard at the foot of the mountain, would all belong to the Wang family. When the time comes, drive everyone else out. By the way, her twin sister Daya must stay. The two look the same but have different personalities. He reluctantly accepted the two sisters and hugged them left and right. Wouldn't it be great?
"Mother, we have to find some people to go with us. What if that girl goes crazy and turns hostile to us? She is very skilled." Mr. Wang said. We have to find some respected people to suppress her.